508 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
June  10,  1897. 
years  ago,  it  was  opened  by  the  Queen.  A  triumphal  arch  was 
erected  over  the  station,  and  it  remains  to  this  day,  minus,  of  course, 
the  trappings.  We  proceed  to  the  Forest,  close  by,  between  an 
avenue  of  young  Limes,  passing  an  imposing  hotel,  and  Queen 
Elizabeth’s  hunting  lodge.  On  the  right  are  stately  trees,  standing 
at  sufficient  distances  for  development  on  the  green  sward  ;  on  the 
left,  an  open,  treeless,  undulated  plain — golf  links  of  300  acres.  The 
excellent  road  gradually  ri*es  through  a  cold,  damp,  clayey  portion 
of  the  Forest,  in  which  the  few  trees  are  stunted  ;  but  as  we  ascend, 
the  land  and  trees  improve,  and  we  are  soon  in  almost  an  impene¬ 
trable  forest  of  healthy  Beeches.  By  sundry  twists  and  turns  the 
higher  level  is  reached,  and  we  are  suddenly  overlooking  glowing 
masses  of  Rhododendrons,  amidst  which  an  ancient  cottage  seems 
to  nestle.  A  charming  spot  is  this— the  High  Beech  Nursery  of 
Messrs.  Paul  &  Son,  Cheshunt.  It  is  an  opening  of  some  twelve  or 
fourteen  acres  in  the  middle  of  the  Forest,  surrounded  at  a  little 
distance  on  all  sides  by  a  lofty  wall  of  Beeches.  Mr.  William  Paul, 
we  were  told,  has  a  still  larger  extent  somewhere  not  far  distant. 
These  nurseries  were  only  retained  after  a  keen  legal  contest. 
When  the  Forest  was  acquired  for  the  public,  residents  who  had 
ettled  on  it  could  only  retain  the  land  they  occupied  by  proving  a 
certain  number  of  years’  possession,  often  no  easy  matter.  When 
high  authorities  personally  inspected  the  enclosures  in  dispute  they 
called  at  a  fortunate  time.  In  the  grounds  attached  to  the  cottage 
mentioned  is,  among  other  features,  an  avenue  of  Rhododendrons 
— splendid  standards,  with  huge  heads  covered  with  noble  trusses 
rising  from  a  base  of  young  flowering  shrubs  and  hardy  Azaleas. 
When  the  inspectors  looked  down  this  flowery  avenue,  as  we  did, 
they  appear  to  have  been  enchanted.  They  could  not  advise  its 
being  given  back  to  Nature,  but  jet  bad  to  consider  the  question 
of  public  interest,  and  the  matter  was  settled  on  sensible  lines. 
They  obtained  for  the  public  access  to  the  nursery  (except  the 
small  cottage  enclosure),  and  in  return  recognised  the  proprietary 
rights  of  the  present  owners.  This  beautiful  nursery  is,  then, 
open  to  the  public,  far  more  benefit  no  doubt  resulting  to  the 
proprietors  by  the  advertisement  than  losi  by  the  possible  plucking 
of  a  flower. 
It  is  fair  to  say  that  Mr.  George  Paul  did  not  press  us  to 
inspect  his  treasures,  for  he  is  a  connoisseur  as  well  as  a  nursery¬ 
man  ;  but  offered  us  a  warm  cottage  welcome,  and  was  ready  to 
show  us  the  Forest,  as  a  greater  novelty  to  us  than  his  “  cultures 
but  Mr.  A.  B.  went  straight  for  the  great  masses  of  colour,  and 
the  rest  had  to  follow.  Rhododendrons  are  at  home  at  High 
Beech,  in  all  size  s  and  all  colours,  from  the  smooth  purity  of  Mrs. 
John  Clutton  to  the  richest  of  all  the  tribe,  the  fiery  Prometheus. 
There  were  several  blanks  in  the  rows  it  is  true  (nurserymen 
rather  like  to  see  them),  for  a  great  man  had  drawn  on  the  stock 
to  no  small  extent — Mr.  Cecil  Rhodes — and  took  the  shrubs  off  by 
hundreds  ;  but  there  were  plenty  left  to  make  the  Forest  glorious. 
And  then  there  were  the  masses  of  Mollis  Azaleas,  notably  the 
standards — dense  bouquets  of  beauty.  Mr.  A.  B.  made  a  dart 
for  one  of  them,  to  read  its  name  on  a  ticket ;  it  was  simply 
“sold.”  Another  and  another,  with  the  same  “name.”  At  last 
he  remarked,  in  a  sort  of  disappointed  way,  “  They  are  not  all 
sold  ;  are  they,  Mr.  Paul  ?  ”  “  Oh,  no  ;  not  all.”  “  Then  I  want 
tome,  and  please  do  not  forget.”  It  was  rather  firmly  spoken, 
and  Mr.  Paul  will,  perhaps,  “not  forget.” 
Mr.  Paul  is  becoming  more  and  more  interested  in  his  new 
race  of  early  hardy  Rhododendrons.  Some  years  ago  he  applied 
pollen  of  some  of  the  rough  recurvinp-leaved  catawbiense  varieties 
to  flowers  of  the  long  flat  glossy  leaved  Chinese  Rhododendron 
Fortunei.  He  has  numbers  of  resulting  varieties  flowering  in 
various  colours,  and  the  effect  of  the  crossing  is  unmistakeable. 
The  “Catawbs”  have  given  colour  and  boldness  of  truss,  Fortunei 
large  open  flowers,  like  Azaleas,  with  long  peduncles,  and  hence 
open  trusses,  the  foliage  varying,  but  mostly  smooth.  These 
seedlings  are  quite  distinct  in  character,  thoroughly  hardy,  and  a* 
a  rule  flowers  decidedly  in  advance  of  the  bulk  of  Rhododendrons 
in  cultivation.  A  few  have  been  named,  and  found  favour,  notably 
the  Duke  and  Duchess  of  York.  It  is  slow  work  raising  and 
growing,  flowering  and  selecting  Rhododendrons  and  hardy 
Azaleas,  and  then  there  may  be  a  hundred  times  more  blanks  than 
prizes ;  but  Mr.  Paul  hopes  he  has  fallen  in  for  a  few  of  the  latter, 
though  he  seems  to  think  more  of  lengthening  the  Rhododendron 
season  by  gaining  a  week  or  two  at  the  beginning  of  it  than 
anything  else.  _ 
The  soil  of  this  forest  nursery  seems  largely  composed  of 
Bagshot  sand  and  gravel,  darkened  by  humus,  the  result  of  the 
decay  of  vegetation  through  the  centuries,  though  it  may  also 
contain  a  trace  of  clay.  It  has  only  been  brought  into  its  present 
condition  by  much  labour  ;  but  there  is  the  reward  not  in  Azaleas 
and  Rhododendrons  only,  but  in  a  grand  plantation  of  Araucarias, 
and  truly  magnificent  ipecimen  Hollies,  kept  moveable ;  and, 
besides,  Tea  Roses  grow  with  a  freedom  rarely  seen,  and  muit  take 
up  with  “wigs”  of  roots  from  such  a  medium.  Hybrid  Per¬ 
petuate  do  not  answer,  but  that  is  of  small  consequence,  as  there 
is  not  room  enough  for  them  if  they  would,  and  they  are  happy 
enough  at  Cheshunt,  »ome  five  or  six  miles  away.  We  must  be 
“away,”  too,  as  we  have  lingered  more  than  the  intended  quarter 
of  an  hour,  and  Mr.  Paul  now  takes  us  to  the  “  Drosera  field,”  in 
which  numbers  of-  the  little  Venus’  Fly-traps  stud  the  swampy 
ground.  We  had  not  time  to  hunt  for  the  Lycopods,  and  instead 
of  dropping  Mr.  Paul  at  his  cottage  be  had  to  endure  a  four 
or  five  miles  drive  along  the  London  and  Cambridge  Road, 
right  through  the  Forest  to  Epping,  and  stay  there  for  a  little, 
while  at  a  famous  old-time  hostelry. 
As  previously  from  the  high  ground  we  had  looked  down  over 
far  spreading  Herts,  now  on  the  return  journey  we  took  the  other 
side  in  which  Essex  wa3  brought  for  a  time  within  the  line  of 
vision  ;  but  we  were  soon  among  the  trees  again,  passing  through 
rustic  rural  They  don.  On  one  side  the  trees  had  been  thinned  for 
a  distance,  the  appearance  being  somewhat  park-like,  the  other  side 
wild.  While  a  little  change  may  be  des’rable  here  and  there,  and 
fine  trees  opened  out,  it  is  easy  to  do  too  much  thinning  in  a  real 
“forest”  like  this,  where,  generally  speaking,  “nature  unadorned” 
presents  the  greatest  charm.  No  doubt  Mr.  McKenzie,  the  super¬ 
intendent  (whom  we  did  not  see)  is  aware  of  this,  and  considering 
hii  training  under  his  father,  the  late  respected  Major,  the  forest 
should  be  safe  in  his  keeping.  Artists  burst  out  in  complaints 
from  time  to  time,  as  is  their  wont,  and  they  may  perhaps  do  a 
little  good.  We  saw  nothing  to  complain  about  in  an  enjoyable 
drive  through  or  past  some  6000  acres — mountains  and  valleys  of 
trees — Beeches,  Birches,  and  Oaks,  dappled  in  various  tints  of 
green.  It  was  pitiable,  however,  to  see  the  larrae  of  the  winter 
moth  devouring  the  Oaks,  though  the  observant  “A.  B.”  remarked, 
they  let  the  Turkey  kind  alone — a  hint  for  future  planting. 
We  left  Mr.  Paul  (to  whom  we  were  so  greatly  indebted)  near 
his  cottage,  and  on  reaching  Babylon  again  agreed  that  we  had 
experienced  a  day  of  delight,  and  that  we  should  not  fail  to  keep 
the  next  appointment,  if  it  fell  on  a  rainy  morning.  “Come, 
havn’t  you  done  ?  ”  whispers  someone,  looking  over  a  shoulder; 
“  I  am  sure  you  ought  to  apologise.”  “  I  would  if  it  wasn’t 
holiday  time,  when  they  will  excuse  the  Forest  ozone,”  replied 
— The  Fcribf. 
SUMMER  BEDDING. 
{Concluded  from  page  477.) 
No  porticn  of  the  garden  is  more  beautiful  and  interesting  in  the 
summer  than  the  water  gardeD.  If  you  have  the  smallest  stream  of 
water  running  through  any  pan  of  the  garden  it  may  be  turned  into  a 
very  beautiful  and  interesting  feature,  by  making  a  number  of  small 
ponds  or  beds  of  water,  to  be  planted  with  aquatics,  and  amongst  and 
round  about  these  pools  may  be  made  beds  of  Cannas.  Castor  Oil  plants, 
Lilies,  Hydrangea  paniculata,  Fuchsias.  Eucalyptus  globulus,  and 
Japanese  Iris  (Iris  Kasmpferi).  The  ponds  must  be  made  of  various- 
depths  to  suit  tbe  different  water  plants,  and  should  be  in  the  full  sun, 
and  sheltered  from  rough  winds  as  much  aS  possible.  Tbe  sides  and 
b Atoms  of  these  ponds  must  be  watertight  by  puddling  with  clay  or 
cement,  afterwards  making  a  good  mud  bottom.  The  warmer  the  water 
cau  be  kept  during  the  summer  the  better  the  plants  will  thrive,  there¬ 
fore  if  your  supply  stream  is  a  fast-running  one  have  just  enough  water 
entering  the  ponds  to  keep  them  overflowing.  The  remainder  of  the 
water  not  required  may  be  turned  another  way,  and  hardier  moisture- 
loving  plants  grown  by  the  side  of  it,  such  as  Spiraeas  palmata,  palmata 
alba,  palmata  elegans,  Aruncus,  astilboides,  and  japonica  compacts, 
common  yellow  Iris,  Iris  Kaempferi  in  great  variety,  variegated  Rushes, 
Bamboos,  Ly thrums,  Lobelia  syphilitica,  hardy  Carex,  Bullrusbes, 
Water  Flags,  Gunneras  manicata  and  ecabra,  very  noble  plants  with 
immense  leaves,  and  not  forgetting  the  Marsh  Marigolds,  Calthas 
palustrie,  palustris  pleno  and  alba ;  Primulas  japonica  and  rosea, 
Limnanthes  Douglasi,  Saxifraga  peltata,  a  beautiful  flower,  also 
Saxifraga  Fortunei  ;  Cypripedium  spectabile,  Sarracenia  purpurea  and 
Parnassia,  while  on  the  banks  may  be  grown  patches  of  Lilium  lanci- 
folium  rulrum,  roseum,  album  and  Kreetzeri,  Montbretia  crocosmte- 
flora  and  Pottsi,  groups  of  Cannas,  patches  of  Cowslips  and  Primroses, 
Narcissus,  Fritillariae,  Chionodoxas,  TriTiums,  Snowdrops,  and  Crocuses. 
The  artificial  ponds  should  not  be  made  to  look  too  formal,  and  if  the 
sides  are  cemented  let  the  green  grass  come  over  to  meet  the  water,  go 
that  the  cement  may  be  kept  out  of  sight. 
In  the  first  poDd,  with  about  2  feet  of  water  and  6  or  8  inches  of  mud, 
plant  Nymph  mas  gigantea  (white),  Carolina  (clear  rosy  pink);  Nupbar 
